The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Thursday, March 17, 2011- 7A

It's time to own the spotlight, Coach

A the shades of gray in
the Michigan sky become
brighter tones of blue,
John Beilein walks the streets of
Ann Arbor with an extra bounce
in his step.
The Michigan coach has
defied all
expectations LUKE
this year, PASCH
leading one
of the young- On Basketball
est teams in
America to a
fourth-place finish in the mighty
Big Ten and a No. 8 seed in the
NCAA Tournament. No matter
what happens Friday against
No. 9 seed Tennessee - win or
lose - Beilein and his assistant
coaches should be proud of what
they've accomplished.
But I have four words of
advice for the fourth-year coach:
Don't screw this up.
As tempting as it may be, the
stage is too big and the spotlight

is too bright for complacency. All
eyes are on Beilein's Wolverines.
And for a coach who talks an
awful lot about building Michi-
gan into a perennial Division-I
powerhouse, winning Friday's.
contest would be a crucial step.
That's not to say that Beilein
hasn't been here with Michigan
once before.
The University's upperclass-
men fondly recall his run to
the tournament in 2009, when
Manny Harris and DeShawn
Sims led the team to a first-
round upset over Clemson
before being sent home by No.
2 seed Oklahoma (a game that's
mostly remembered for Blake
Griffin's posterizing dunk over
fun-sized forward Zack Novak).
But that was hardly Beilein's
crew - most of the players were
not his recruits.
And we all know how the fol-
lowing year panned out, practi-
cally erasing any progress the

tournament run made for the
program.
This year, Beilein has an
opportunity to show the world
what he can do with the first
Wolverine team made up entire-
ly of his recruits.
And you better believe that
up-and-coming high school and
AAU basketball stars in the state
of Michigan will be watching
closely.
On the heels of a season
sweep of Michigan State, poten-
tial top recruits are confused.
Do they go play for Spartan
coach Tom Izzo, who's proven
time 4d time again that he wins
in thepostseason? Or, do they
play for Beilein, who's coaching
a team with a decidedly bright
future?
Who knows. I'm not taking
any shots in the dark. But I do
know this - potential recruits
will be watching what happens
this weekend.

And at the very least, their
interest has been piqued by Sun-
day's airing of "The Fab Five,"
- now ESPN's highest-rated
documentary - which detailed
the glory days of Michigan bas-
ketball in the early 1990s (to
whomever decided to televise
the film a week before the NCAA
Tournament - kudos).
If Michigan can bounce a
Tennessee squad that's making
it's sixth-straight Tournament
appearance, likely earning a
Sunday showdown with top-
seeded Duke in the following
round (sorry, Hampton fans),
don't be surprised if you start
hearing whispers of maize and
blue on the recruiting landscape.
So, be happy, Beilein - you
deserve it. You've given hope to
fans who have endured one of
the worst stretches in the his-
tory of Michigan sports.
Since Selection Sunday, David
Brandon has gotten his best

SALAM RIDA/Daily
Michigan coach John Beilein and the Wolverines have a chance to make a
statement with a win over Tennessee tomorrow.
sleep since being appointed ath- Win on Friday, and you may
letic director. be knocking on the door of the
And the folks in Ann Arbor nation's elite. Lose, and you're
have something to do this March still working to get off that first
other than read up on spring step.
football developments. The ball's in your court,
But that's just the first step. Beilein.

Russell eyes national title with high expectations

By DANIEL WASSERMAN
Daily Sports Writer
He just capped off his third con-
secutive Big Ten title.
He hadn't lost in 34 matches. Yet
none of that seemed to matter for
redshirt junior Kellen Russell.
"It's a good warm-up getting
ready for Nationals," Russell said
after winning his third conference
crown two weeks ago. "I'm just
kind of concentrating on winning
my first national title, and not the
three titles.
"I'm glad I was able to win
three. I know there a lot of really
good wrestlers that haven't been
able to do that, but I'm just trying
to concentrate on winning my-first
national title rather than thinking
about my three Big Ten titles right
now, because my real, long-term

goal isto win at Nationals."
And when you look at Russell's
career, you can't blame him.. The
High Bridge, New Jersey native is
one of eight wrestlers representing
11th-ranked Michigan (5-3 Big Ten,
11-5 overall) in this week's NCAA
Tournament, which begins Thurs-
day in Philadelphia. Russell, No. 1
in the 141-pound weight class, has
been in this spot before. In 2009.
- his sophomore season - Russell
was also the top-ranked grappler
entering the NCAA Tournament.
With the expectations of winning
a national title on his shoulders,
Russell crumbled - failing to even
reach the quarterfinals.
He lost again in the consolation
bracket, before capturing seventh-
place. That was 2009 - the last
time Russelllost.
"Throughout the course of the

season, he's done a good job of
staying focused week-to-week,"
Michigan coach Joe McFarland
said of his star's perfect season.
"But there's no question intheback
of his mind, this is what he wants.
This is the tournamenthe's trained
for. This is the tournament he's
been looking to get back to since
his sophomore year." But Russell
isn't the only Wolverine with high
expectations.
"We've been really intense and I
think the team looks really good,"
junior Zac Stevens said. "We're
rested and ready to go for the big
show.
"We sat down (with the coaches
at the beginning of the season) and
set what our goals for the season
are. I think everyone in our lineup
is capable of, and wantsto be, an
All-American. It's a pretty clear

thing across the board."
All-American honors are
bestowed upon those who finish in
the top eight at Nationals. Stevens
joins Russell, redshirt junior Justin
Zeerip and fifth-year senior Antho-
ny Biondo as the lone Wolverines
with NCAA Tournament experi-
ence. After struggling through a
season laced with injury, including
a diagnosis of colitis, Biondo knows
that with success in March, all can
be forgotten. After a 0-2 Big Ten
tournament put Biondo on thebub-
ble, the 15th-ranked veteran has a
chance to make a big splash in his
last go-around.
"I think he's excited to get
another opportunity," McFarland
said of his captain. "He's got expe-
rience here. I think he's in a good
spot - I like his draw. It's just a
matter of putting things together."

Four Wolverines - redshirt
sophomore Ben Apland, sopho-
more Sean Boyle and redshirt
freshmen Dan Yates and Eric Gra-
jales - will make their Nationals
debuts this week.
"Sometimes these guys come
in with big eyes because it's in a
big venue, it's sold out and they're
talking about a record attendance
here," McFarland said. "But I've
got .to keep these guys focused on
their wrestling and keeping the
distractions out of their mind.
"And we've talked about, 'It's
just another wrestling match.
You've done this hundreds and
hundreds of times throughout the
course of your life. It's just another
wrestling match."'
One thing the Wolverines have
going for them is their experience
going through the weekly grind of

the nation's toughest conference -
the Big Ten. Five of the country's
top-15 teams come from the Big
Ten - including three of the top
four.
"Wrestling in the Big Ten is kind
of like wrestling in the national
tournament all year long," Stevens '
said. "I think everybody will be
ready for the intensity and the level
of competitionbecause you're not
going to find better competition
than in the Big Ten."
But in the end, it all comes down
to representing their school and
the block 'M' on their chest.
"It means everything," Stevens
said of representing the Wolver-
ines. "That's what we're here for,
that's why we chose to come to
Michigan. We work all season for
it. This is just the culmination of
our season."


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